Save Your Back With One of These Top 7 Interstate Mover Companies

Choosing an interstate mover for your next transition is worth it, as long as you pick the right one. Here’s how to compare them + our favorite seven.

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Are you built like the Incredible Hulk? Blessed with a troop of young, strong and willing friends, each of whom owns a pick-up truck? Married to a chiropractor?Unless you can answer yes to at least two of those questions, it’s time to book a moving company.

But wait, you protest. I don’t have that kind of money!

We understand that the budget must come first, but when you consider the cost of fuel, extra time off work, insurance, packing materials, moving blankets and any damage to the truck, a professional interstate mover starts looking a lot more affordable.

How Did We Choose These Moving Companies?

Next, we examined customer ratings on the Better Business Bureau, discarding companies that are not registered and accredited.

Last, we weighed the number of locations or agents offered by the company, indicating greater scheduling flexibility and areas served.

Afterward, we created a raw and a curved percentage for each mover to help you compare them. See more on our methodology below. But first …

Understanding Estimates and Choosing the Right Interstate Mover

Before we dig into our favorite interstate mover choices, let’s talk about cost. Each company uses a customized estimate system based on the square footage of your home, number of possessions, estimated weight, actual weight, the distance of your trip and more. The best way to factor in cost is to get multiple quotes.

These estimates will come in two forms:

A binding estimate: This legal document binds both you and the issuer to a set price, provided your situation does not change between estimate and move.

A non-binding estimate: This option will get you in the ballpark as to final price, but the mover can legally adjust it up to (but not exceeding) 10 percent. If you opt for this, be sure to grill the mover about extra charges and hidden fees before you sign on the dotted line.

So is one moving company estimate enough? Are five too many? Dana Dratch, a contributing writer for Bankrate.com, offers this advice, “Just like any other professional service, get estimates from at least three services before you make your choice.”

While they were technically founded in 1929, this interstate mover has been moving goods from A to B since 1901. Today National Van Lines is happy to move you to the next neighborhood or the next continent.

Started by two exceptionally motivated high school brothers back in the 80s and billed as the fastest-growing franchised moving company in America, Two Men and a Truck now maintains a presence in 41 states.

DIY-ers love U-Pack. You can stack and rack to your heart’s content with a container right on your property, saving money on the loading process, then leave the scary interstate driving to them. Goodbye, terrors of the road; hello, leisurely car trip!

Methodology

We used three different data points to get a total percentage out of 100. Our factors included:

Length of time in the business, measured out of 127 years (the tenure of the oldest company on our list) – 30%

Better Business Bureau ranking, measured out of 5 stars – 40%

Number of agents or locations, measured out of 500 possible (the highest number of the companies on our list) – 30%

We then calculated curved scores by subtracting our top mover’s percentage from 100 and adding that to each mover’s raw score.

It was difficult to find a review platform on which all moving companies were present, which is why you may notice a few of the biggest names in moving didn’t make our cut. We ultimately chose the Better Business Bureau, which rates them on a combination of factors: whether they deliver on services, their dedication to customer dispute resolution and reviews. In the event that BBB returned more than one hit, we chose the first.

Data for the number of agents and dates founded came from the businesses.

About the Author

Sarah Moore

Sarah Beth Moore is a professional writer and published author who earned her master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. A moving and relocation expert, Sarah has even moved internationally to Belize in Central America. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When she’s not contributing to the Life Storage blog, Sarah shares her thoughts on writing and location independence on her personal blog, New Leaf Writing.